Our Survival Depends On Us "Jumping Once Too Often Into the Ocean That Had Always Been Our Inspiration" LP
[Mju.Org]
This Austrian band's unusual LP opens with a slow and pounding instrumental passage that only gets increasingly odd once the moody singing vocals kick in repeating the line, "Armageddon inside..."  Why, you ask?  Well, the vocals are a strange sort of singing style that's kind of overdramatic.  I assume that since the music is slow and has a sinister rhythmic intensity to it that the vocals are kind of going for an eerie sort of doom twist or something, and they're almost there, but the vocalist just isn't convincing enough as a singer, you know?  The yelling style of delivery is much stronger, and actually works pretty well with the music.  But even though I can handle most of the singing, it needs a little more emphasis to convey the emotion that the big picture is hinting at with this material.  The second track, "Washing Hands in Innocence" opens with a similar rhythm before dropping back to a somber clean passage that accompanies further strained singing, almost whispered at times, and it's with this selection that I'd definitely start to cite a significant Neurosis influence, though this band is definitely more stripped down and doom inspired.  But the vocal tradeoffs between singing and gruff shouting/telling with the general pacing of the music and the imagery suggested by the lyrics is indeed tied to the aforementioned progenitors themselves.  "A Stream That Won't Run Dry" is one of my favorite tracks, making nice use of dissonance in a shorter and more focused composition that still relies on pulsing repetition, but strays from the singing vocals in favor of the more aggressive styles.  Similarly, "The Element Beholder" opens with an excellent clean passage that's more openly melodic and emotional than much of the other playing, accompanied by spoken vocals that hint at a more effective brand of restrained singing.  I hate to keep bringing it up, but admittedly this track sounds eerily similar to something Neurosis would've done on "Times of Grace", though despite its somewhat unoriginal tinges I still quite enjoy it.  Another mild setback for this potentially awesome band is that the recording isn't powerful enough.  Clear?  Yes.  Does it get the job done?  Absolutely.  But it's too flat.  It needs more of everything (the closest of which they come to is "Breathe", a more ferocious in track in which it just sounds like the entire band is simply playing harder).  More volume, more density, more distortion, you know?  Thicker and fuller distorted guitars, smoother and more beautiful clean passages, added robustness to the percussive textures and prominent basslines, etc.  But the mix is very good and everything does sound natural, so that's working in their favor, and they are on the right track.  The packaging is hit and miss.  The LP (which is limited to 500 copies, by the way) is pressed on ultra thick opaque white vinyl, while the outer sleeve is a matte black and white affair that looks quite nice, using tastefully handwritten text and a consistent visual aesthetic.  The insert is also a matte black and white approach, but the handwriting looks sloppier and the way the imagery and text is all just haphazardly collaged together looks very messy compared to how elegant and abstract the outer sleeve appears.  Nonetheless, I do really enjoy the lyrics, which seem to be inspired by history and nature through bleak depictions of mankind's existence and survival.  "Positive living matter, Breathe pure in its void, A consequence of cancer, Like civilizations that feed off their own flesh, Never been and never will be, Never been and never will be healed?"  Overall I'm going to overlook the slight shortcomings of this LP because there's something intriguing about it that has piqued my interest in a way that most releases don't.  I would suggest that the band push for a sound more individual to themselves, but I can hear the genuine sincerity in this music, so I imagine such a growth will occur naturally.  A more robust recording would probably make up for some of the vocal inadequacies of the singing, but I'm very interested to see where this band will go next, so hopefully I'll get the chance to find out.  Not bad. (7/10)
Running time - 45:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: A Stream That Won't Run Dry, The Element Beholder, Breathe]
Mju.Org Records - http://www.mjuorg.com

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